Saffy's Angel: Book 1 (Casson Family)
- Brand: Unbranded
Description
I'm ringing the hospital!" said the health visitor in a voice of controlled calm. "Wrap her up in something warm! Don't give her anything to drink! We'll go straight to Emergency...." If there is one thing your mother was good at," Bill Casson, the children's father, would say, "it was choosing names for you children!" This makes you feel sorry for Saffron as she thinks of her mother and her past life, which she barely remembers. There is no one at Saffron’s house, so they try going every day. On the last day Sarah and Saffron discuss how they can meet the people who live there, and Saffron suggests climbing over the wall. She decides against it, considering Sarah has a wheelchair.
Cadmium Casson - the oldest out of the Casson children. Caddy is on her 96th driving lesson and is madly in love with her gorgeous driving instructor. Where do the Casson children get their names? Do these names fit them? What do their names, and how they got them, tell us about the family in general? Caddy appeared over and over on the color chart, all along the top row. Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Deep Yellow, Cadmium Scarlet, and Cadmium Gold. What do you think about Bill's and Eve's styles of parenting? In what ways are their styles similar, and in what ways are they different? Are they good parents? Do you think the four children would have turned out differently if they'd been brought up by a more traditional couple?I Was Beaten by a Girl: Twice; the first time, Sapphy takes on Indigo's bullies, and they have the sense to not go on further. The second time, Rose thrashes them when she thinks they broke Tom's guitar, and the boys admit even if they saved her life, they deserved that for bullying Indigo. I don't know. He went away that same night. We didn't see him again for ages and ages, and when we did, he was different." Meanwhile, nineteen year old Caddy is drooling over her super hot driving instructor, eleven year old Indigo is trying to get over his fear of heights, and Rose is busy annoying her farther Bill Casson… the outcomes are hilarious. The Cassons are an amazing family, who you could call bohemian, except for Bill who is as neat as a pin. Nothing, dear," said the health visitor in a bright, careless voice, and Saffron, who was frightened without knowing why, allowed herself to believe this was true. This, like the car for Indigo, the house for Caddy and the money for Rose was, indeed, gone. Thirteen year old Saffy then decides the key to find her angel is in Venice so she stows away with new friend Sarah.
Single-Target Sexuality: David hasn't swerved in his affection for Saffron throughout all the books, and later moved with her to Siena, where the blog implies that they had a Relationship Upgrade. Runaway Bride: Subverted. Caddy agrees to marry Alex instead of Darling Michael, but he now doesn't want to marry her. Later, Caddy steals all of Rose's postcards from Micheal and runs off in search of him instead. That was how she discovered that Eve was not her mother. Nor was a real (and nearly successful) artist in London her father. Worst of all, Caddy and Indigo and Rose were not her brother and sisters. Heroic Bystander: Ironically enough, the boys bullying Indigo rescue Rose when she's about to cross the street with Tom's broken guitar without using a crosswalk or looking both ways. They pay for it when Rose believes they broke the guitar further and recognizes them as the gang going after her brother, leading to her beating them up.
The novel skips several years, and it seems that Saffron has accepted her life, although this is not the case as another injustice is coming her way. Her sister/cousin, Caddy, finds out from his nursing home that their grandfather has died. I've looked under all the yellows," said Saffron loudly and belligerently, "and I've looked under all the oranges too, and there isn't a Saffron!"
May–December Romance: Tom/Rose, the books' fandom most popular pairing, are five years apart, but this doesn't stop Rose from being in love with him from the age of eight. (and there's hints throughout the books that Tom reciprocates her feelings). Also, Indigo/Sarah to a lesser extent. The book builds its characters very cleverly, with little anecdotes just real enough to be inherently humorous and smart enough to be intentionally, side-splittingly funny. Then comes the end of the book, one giant laugh-out-loud conclusion as all the pieces come together in ridiculous, unexpected ways complete with sparkling dialogue and notes from Rose. (The notes from Rose are not to be missed.) Well," said Eve, sighing as she remembered. "She was in Italy and I was in England. So it was difficult. I was always going to go and visit her, and I never quite did. I wish I had." There are better books out there for children but this isn't completely a bad read for children of a young age. It's cute and has meaning. The concept was good, as stated before, but the execution could have been better. And, of course, there's Saffron, the Saffy of the title, who isn't on the Casson color chart. Who meets Sarah, the girl next door, and finds out that maybe Eve isn't just messing around painting in the shed.Who is willed a stone angel by her grandfather - a stone angel that is missing.
Bittersweet Ending: Tom leaving to return to America because of a family crisis. Rose hides under the bed and refuses to say goodbye to him, and later, Rose and Indigo watch the stars and wish on airplanes as they think of him. All Love Is Unrequited: Rose has showed signs of this as she longs for Tom to return her feelings. A blog update seemed to hint that he does, but so far since her May 14th 2011 update, nothing is really known officially about how Tom and Rose feel about each other. The words fell into a moment of silence. Rose held her breath between roars. Caddy's head jerked up and her eyes were startled. Indigo stopped hammering. Eve went scarlet and looked very confused and began an unhappy mumble. A not-yet, not-now sort of mumble.
Caddy goes through a lot of boyfriends and has trouble committing to Michael. Why is it so hard for her to think about being married to him? Why does she agree to marry Alex? Why doesn't she tell Michael about Buttercup?Saffy and the search for her angel are certainly the core of the book but the heart of the story is all the Casson children. Saffy is distant and temperamental but obviously loves her quirky siblings very much. Caddie, Indigo, and Rose are devoted to her and to each other. The way they understand each other and assist each other amid such chaos and despite their idiosyncrasies is heartwarming. Batman Gambit: Pulled off by Rose's younger friend Molly, of all people, by getting them intentionally left behind at the Zoo so that Sadist Teacher Mr. Spencer is reprimanded by the Head and replaced with a kinder teacher, Mrs. Shah.
- Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
- EAN: 764486781913
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